Not My Cup of Tea
by MangoGrape
Summary: Wheatley insists he's brave enough to watch a scary movie.


**Chell sat with one leg crossed over the other on her taupe couch. Here eyes darted back and forth, riding the texture of the small print on the pages of her book. The title of the book was 'The Phantom Tollbooth'. She had been working away at it for two hours now. Meanwhile, Wheatley sat nestled comfortably in the opposite corner.**

The blue eyed core scanned the plain white living room for the hundredth time. How could Chell possibly sit still for so long? And in so much silence? Perhaps it would have been less boring if Wheatley had something to do.

Wheatley couldn't take it anymore. The sheer agony of the silence in the atmosphere was too much to bare. He knew that if he went on this way any longer he would surely explode. He let out a soft little sigh, one that was clearly simulated. He didn't get the reaction he had hoped for. He didn't get one at all, in fact. Feeling particularly stubborn he let out another sigh, louder this time. Honestly, had the lady gone deaf? Wheatley grunted, coughed, wheezed, and everything in between. She was sure to notice that.

Chell slowly turned her head towards him, a look of sheer annoyance in her eyes. She raised a finger to her lips silently.

"Augh, I'm so bored! I don't wanna be quiet anymore, I don't. It's been much too quiet, hasn't it really?" Wheatley whined. The mute rolled her eyes and looked back to her reading material.

"Come oooooooon! You've read enough of that book already. Now why don't you put it down and do something else, huh?". Chell sighed and tossed the book across the room. She raised her brow, giving Wheatley a look that simply read 'What do you want to do?'.

Now Wheatley had to think. He hadn't really thought about what exactly he wanted to do. Mostly he'd been complaining about how bored he was. He scanned the room for something to do, when the television set came into focus.

"Uhhhh... Tell ya what, turn on the tele, and we'll see if we can find a good movie." He suggested. Obediently, Chell picked up the remote and flipped through the channels. Unfortunately their search was unsuccessful. Just when the little core thought his plan was a bust, Chell turned to a new channel he'd never seen before. It was called On Demand, apparently.

"Are those all movie titles?" he asked. The woman nodded. His optic lens widened a bit in surprise. "Oi! Look at all of 'em!" He gasped in amazement.

One particular title stood out to him for some reason he couldn't quite pinpoint. He squinted at the T.V. screen, pondering what the movie could be about.

"How about Paranormal Activity?" Wheatley suggested. Chell selected it, reading through the description. It was rated R. She shook her head. Nope, not happening.

"What? Aww, come on! Why not?" he moaned. Chell set the remote down and pointed to him. She then imitated a screaming and horrified person.

"Too scary? What, am I a child to you?" Wheatley asked in an offended tone. Chell shrugged. "Come on old girl! I may be small, but I'm as tough as a cow! ...Er, camel. Meant to say camel. No, wait, that's not right either... Uh... Well, doesn't matter. Point is I can take a little fright." Wheatley babbled. Chell sighed and shook her head. Honestly she could have argued with him all night, but decided against it. Perhaps his reactions could prove rather amusing.

Chell picked up the remote and selected the movie, much to Wheatley's delight. The little core wiggled to the best of his ability, a clear indication of his glee. The human dimmed the lights. Wheatley wasn't sure why, but he didn't question it.

Twenty minutes had passed and the duo were bored out of their minds. Nothing of interest had happened. Wheatley looked over at Chell.

"Didn't you say this is supposed to be scary?" He asked. Chell only shrugged. Perhaps she had been mistaken. Suddenly, a thump could be heard from the television. They watched carefully, taking care to pay extra attention to the background of the set. A door slammed shut on screen, barely fazing Chell but forcing a yelp out of her companion.

"Ah...yes, haha, no, see I wasn't scared. It just... surprised me. That's all. Just let my guard down for a moment. All is fine. Carry on." The core rambled. The former Aperture test subject rolled her eyes, a smirk manifesting on her face.

A womanly scream came from the movie followed by a girl tearing through the kitchen as if she were being followed.

"Wh-what was that!? What's happening!?" Wheatley cried. Since the lady beside him was mute, she could not give him an answer. Not that he would have been listening.

Now the woman was dragged down the stairs by an invisible entity. The unbearable sound of her nails clawing at the steps was almost completely drowned out by her wails.

Wheatley let out a scream much like hers, equally as loud and almost at the same pitch. His optic lens dilated and darted around the room, frightened to the core. More screaming ensued, but mostly from the core.

"Okay, okay, yes, this is real terror now! This is- AHHHHHHHH!" Wheatley shrieked. Suddenly a demonic looking figure presented itself on screen.

"ALRIGHT! ALRIGHT! THAT'S ENOUGH NOW!" He cried. "I DON'T LIKE THIS; I DON'T WANNA WATCH IT ANYMORE!". Chell had to suppress a smirk that threatened to push through. Wheatley squeezed his shutters closed, not being able to look at the screen anymore.

"Turnitoffturnitoffturnitofft urnitoff!". Eventually Chell gave into his pleading and turned the T.V. off. However, it was not without a silent cackle. Slowly but surely, Wheatley summoned the courage to open up his eye again. His optic lens still a pin prick, it darted all around the room. That was when Chell realised that he may have been a bit more spooked than she had previously thought.

He was shaking. No, not really shaking. More like vibrating. It was probably an automatic reaction from his system. Soft whimpers came from within him as his vibrations caused the entire couch to quake. Chell scooted over to him, patting him on the top.

"A-Ah! Oh! I-It's just you, it's just you." He realised. "Good, good that's good. Great actually, that it's only you. You, Chell, and not some c-crazy uh... Demon woman out to kill me. Yes, fantastic." Wheatley rambled. Chell pulled him into her lap, rubbing soft little circles into his hull. Doing this seemed to calm him down a considerable amount.

"...Uh... Chell?" Wheatley softly called. She looked down at him expectantly. "Ah.. C-can I leave my flash light on? Just for one night. Y'know just in case somebody tries to kill us. Just a precaution, really. Can never be too careful, huh?". Chell smiled softly, giving a quick nod.


End file.
